{"id":9934,"date":"2026-10-07T13:49:38","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T18:49:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/?p=9934"},"modified":"2026-10-07T13:49:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T18:49:38","slug":"for-what-shall-we-pray-180","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/9934\/","title":{"rendered":"For what shall we pray?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-7866 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/60\/2023\/02\/For-What-Shall-We-Pray-option-1-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"130\" height=\"130\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/60\/2023\/02\/For-What-Shall-We-Pray-option-1-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/60\/2023\/02\/For-What-Shall-We-Pray-option-1-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/60\/2023\/02\/For-What-Shall-We-Pray-option-1-250x250.png 250w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/60\/2023\/02\/For-What-Shall-We-Pray-option-1-350x350.png 350w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/60\/2023\/02\/For-What-Shall-We-Pray-option-1.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 130px) 100vw, 130px\" \/><\/span>&#8220;For what shall we pray?&#8221; is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. This resource is prepared by a variety of leaders in the ELCA and includes prayer prompts, upcoming events and observances, and prayer suggestions from existing denominational worship materials. You are encouraged to use these resources as a starting point, and to adapt and add other concerns from your local context. More information about this resource can be found <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/7864\/\">here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b><\/b><b>Prayer Prompts:<\/b><br \/>\nFor all those affected by war and armed conflict around the world, especially in Iran, Gaza, Ethiopia, Syria, South Sudan, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine, and Myanmar&#8230;<br \/>\nFor the three-year anniversary of the attacks in Gaza&#8230;<br \/>\nFor elections and political transitions around the world&#8230;<br \/>\nFor lawmakers and courts of law&#8230;<br \/>\nFor all affected by the spread of disease&#8230;<br \/>\nFor safety amidst ongoing student protests in France&#8230;<br \/>\nFor flooding in Spain and all affected by natural disasters&#8230;<br \/>\nFor all in the path of Tropical Storm Isaias&#8230;<br \/>\nFor Nobel Prize recipients and all gifts of discovery, research, and curiosity&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><b>Events &amp; Observances:<\/b><br \/>\nOctober Observances: Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept 15-Oct 15), Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Filipino American History Month, National Bullying Prevention Month, National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, LGBTQ History Month<\/p>\n<p>William Tyndale, translator, martyr, died 1536 (Oct 6)<br \/>\nHenry Melchior Muhlenberg, pastor in North America, died 1787 (Oct 7)<br \/>\nMassie L. Kennard, renewer of the church, died 1986 (Oct 10)<br \/>\nIndigenous People\u2019s Day (Oct. 12)<br \/>\nDay of Thanksgiving (Canada, Oct 12)<br \/>\nTeresa of Avila, teacher, renewer of the church, died 1582 (Oct 15)<br \/>\nIgnatius, Bishop of Antioch, martyr, died around 115 (Oct 17)<\/p>\n<p><b>Prayers from ELCA Resources:<\/b><br \/>\n<i>A prayer for responsible citizenship<\/i> (ELW p.77):<br \/>\nLord God, you call your people to honor those in authority. Help us elect trustworthy leaders, participate in wise decisions for our common life, and serve our neighbors in local communities. Bless the leaders of our land, that we may be at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the earth; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.<\/p>\n<p><i>A prayer of Pope Francis<\/i> (ACS p.48):<br \/>\nEnlighten those who possess power and money that they may avoid the sin of indifference, that they may love the common good, advance the weak, and care for this world in which we live. The poor and the earth are crying out. O Lord, seize us with your power and light, help us to protect all life, to prepare for a better future, for the coming of your kingdom of justice, peace, love, and beauty. Amen.<\/p>\n<p>A variety of worship resources related to the upcoming national election season are <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/9889\/\">available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;<\/p>\n<p>ELW = <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.augsburgfortress.org\/store\/category\/286455\/Evangelical-Lutheran-Worship\">Evangelical Lutheran Worship<\/a><\/em><br \/>\nACS = <a href=\"https:\/\/www.augsburgfortress.org\/store\/category\/287206\/All-Creation-Sings\"><em>All Creation Sings: Evangelical Lutheran Worship<\/em> <em>Supplement<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Additional topical prayers are found in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (pp. 72\u201387) and All Creation Sings (pp. 46\u201355), as well as in other resources provided in print and online at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sundaysandseasons.com\">sundaysandseasons.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Crafted intercessions for every Sunday and festival are provided in the Sundays and Seasons worship planning guide published <a href=\"https:\/\/www.augsburgfortress.org\/store\/category\/286268\/Sundays-and-Seasons\">in-print<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sundaysandseasons.com\">online<\/a> by Augsburg Fortress. <\/em><em>Further assistance for composing prayers of intercession can be found here: <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/5077\/\">Resources for Crafting Prayers of Intercession<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/resources.elca.org\/?_categories=prayer-ventures\">Prayer Ventures<\/a>, a daily prayer resource, is a guide to prayer for the global, social and outreach ministries of the ELCA, as well as for the needs and circumstances of our neighbors, communities and world.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;For what shall we pray?&#8221; is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. This resource is prepared by a variety of leaders in the ELCA and includes prayer prompts, upcoming events and observances, and prayer suggestions from existing denominational worship materials. You are encouraged to use these [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":283,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>For what shall we pray? - ELCA Worship<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/9934\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"For what shall we pray? - ELCA Worship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&#8220;For what shall we pray?&#8221; is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. 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